


More than

by Twice_before_Friday



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Self-Isolation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23290711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twice_before_Friday/pseuds/Twice_before_Friday
Summary: Gift for the promptDomestic fluff!! Possibly involving a proposal or Dani telling Malcolm she's pregnant.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 15
Kudos: 56
Collections: Prodigal Son Trash Swap Spring 2020!





	More than

**Author's Note:**

  * For [evaagna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evaagna/gifts).



The NYPD is obviously considered an 'essential service', meaning Dani and Malcolm have still been spending their days running around the city, splitting their time between investigating crime scenes and filling in paperwork at the precinct. After hours, though, they've been following the recommendations for self-isolation, keeping themselves locked up in Malcolm's apartment, limiting their exposure as best they can.

Following a stressful few days of tracking a killer that had committed three separate murders in the span of one day, Gil sent them home and told them both to take the next two days off. Barring any emergencies, of course. Gil is aware that Dani is basically living with Malcolm at this point, so he sends them home with orders to take care of one another and a promise to keep in touch every day.

The thing is, they've already been coming home directly after work every day for two weeks. Neither of them are willing to complain – they understand the necessity of the precautions – but the problem is that Malcolm and Dani are both outgoing and active people and the forced confinement is sort of driving them crazy.

The first couple nights they spent inside were fine. They curled up on the couch, Dani nestled between Malcolm's legs with her back pressed against his chest, while they binged a Netflix series that they'd both been meaning to get around to. Bright's lips would occasionally fall to Dani's neck, alternating soft kisses with tiny nips as he moved from her neck to her ear to her jawline.

They missed a few of the episodes, but neither of them really minded.

They found out that watching TV wasn't high on the list of 'fun things to do' for either of them, and they discovered quite quickly that they needed to get more creative with their time during their forced confinement.

Malcolm taught Dani chess one night, and neither one of them were at all surprised to discover her immediate aptitude for it. The last time they played, Dani even won one of their matches, which was exceptionally impressive considering Malcolm's near encyclopedic knowledge of the various strategies employed in the game.

They also started practicing yoga together every day. They try to make time in the morning whenever they can, even though Dani is _not_ a morning person (but Bright admitted that it helped to keep him centered throughout the day, so Dani is happy to get up a little earlier), but often need to push it to the evenings when a case calls them out too early for a routine. Bright's strength and Dani's balance have allowed them to learn and grow while they move in tandem, both of them improving with every practice.

In the span of the last two weeks, they played board games, took turns reading to one another ("Chapter by chapter, like a normal person, Bright," Dani insisted after he suggested page by page), watched some Ted Talks, and worked on some cold case files, amongst various other activities, to try and keep themselves busy.

They even set up a jigsaw puzzle up in his office on night three of self-isolation, which has proven to be…interesting. They've been coming back to it off and on in the evenings, neither of them able to sit still long enough to make substantial progress in any one go, but after a week and a half, it finally started to resemble a basketful of playful kittens.

The fact that Malcolm chose _that_ particular puzzle pleases Dani to no end.

So when they get home from work on Friday with two full days looming empty and ominous ahead of them on the calendar, they're at a bit of a loss. Dani decides to start with a deep clean of the apartment, but discovers after only a few minutes that Luisa must've been there earlier in the day. Absolutely every surface in the entire apartment has been scrubbed and disinfected and polished within an inch of its life.

"Bright, don't you find it a little strange that your mother sends her staff over to clean your apartment?" Dani asks as she runs a finger over one of his bookshelves to be met with a squeaky chirp as her skin pulls along the polished wood. She holds her finger up to Bright to show the complete lack of dust.

"I mean, Luisa's worked for my family for ages, so it's not that strange," Malcolm says, but continues quickly at Dani's raised eyebrow, "but besides that, it's just not the hill I'm willing to die on when it comes to choosing battles with my mother."

Dani purses her lips and tilts her head in acknowledgement. She knows that Jessica is certainly a force to be reckoned with and is willing to concede the point. It still seems strange to her to have a 'staff' though, and she says as much to Bright.

"You have to admit, it would have been nice to have a cook last week," Malcolm smirks. After only a handful of days of takeout, Dani had started grumbling about their nightly dinners together.

She shoots him a withering look but there's no real heat behind it because they both know that he's right.

Fortunately, her determination to not eat takeout twice a day, every day, led to the greatest distraction they'd discovered. ("Well, maybe the second best," Bright had quipped when Dani pointed out that her idea to cook together was the best way they'd found to occupy their time so far). They started cooking together every night, sampling recipes that Dani had pinned years ago on Pinterest but had never gotten around to trying. Their evening meals turned exotic and delicious, with the added benefit of killing a couple hours every night as they discovered previously unknown talents in the kitchen.

More importantly, they also discovered that they move perfectly in sync in the kitchen, dancing a beautifully choreographed routine that sees them falling intuitively in step with one another.

And so, to begin their weekend off, they decide to try a twist on a middle eastern favourite, seamlessly moving around one another as they assemble all of their ingredients.

"You know, we seem to have perfectected the art of sharing a kitchen," Malcolm says, as they finish preparing the hemp tabbouleh and maple tahini sauce. The falafel will be cooking for another 16 minutes, so there's nothing to do but wait. He pulls Dani into him, their bodies naturally falling into position as he waltzes them out of the kitchen and spins them around the living room, Dani's bubbling laugh following in their wake.

"I think maybe we've perfected the art of sharing your entire apartment," Dani giggles as he sweeps her up the step into the bedroom area of the loft. She pulls them off balance so they tumble onto the bed, Malcolm's surprised "oh!" making Dani laugh even harder as they fall in a tangle of limbs, Malcolm immediately rolling onto his side to pepper her face with kisses. They lay like that, Malcolm playing with strands of Dani's hair, exchanging gentle kisses until the oven timer goes off.

The pout on Dani's face as Malcolm pulls back causes a quiet chuckle to well up from deep inside of him. He leans down and plants a kiss on the tip of her nose before he pushes himself up and heads to the kitchen, getting the last of their meal ready to go.

Dani takes a second to starfish on the bed before joining Malcolm in the kitchen, assembling their falafel sliders before they sit together at the breakfast bar to enjoy the meal together.

"Mmm. Oh my gosh," Dani says around a mouthful of perfectly spiced slider, her eyes slipping closed as she savors the unique blend of flavours. "This recipe is a definite keeper."

Malcolm just grins. He loves to watch Dani eat; the way she enjoys every bite like it's a brand new experience is always a joy for him to watch, especially since his own relationship with food is far more tenuous.

They keep the conversation light and flowing as they eat, enjoying each other's company, and Bright even manages more than a few bites. As they're finishing their meal, Malcolm asks, "Are you up for a game of chess tonight?"

"Crusin' for a bruisin' Bright?" Dani teases as she takes their plates to the sink. It never fails to amaze Malcolm how Dani can trash talk any activity, even when she knows her chances of winning are slim.

"Well I figure it's chess or the jigsaw?" Malcolm smirks. He's fairly certain that they're only continuing with it because they both hate to quit something they've committed to, but he'd be willing to bet his trust fund that this is the last puzzle they ever do.

Dani rolls her eyes and Malcolm joins her in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she's packing up the leftovers into glass containers. She turns her head to press a quick to his cheek before wriggling out of his arms to finish putting the rest of the food away.

"Fine, I get it, no kitchen snuggles," Malcolm says with raised hands, laying the mock-exasperation on thick.

"Shut up," she laughs and bumps her shoulder up against his, "the sooner we clean this place up the sooner we can do more than just snuggle." She wiggles her eyebrows and the effect is far closer to ridiculous than sexy and Malcolm has to bite his lip to keep from laughing, turning his attention instread to the dishes in the sink. She notices (of course she notices) and adds a shocked, "Malcolm Bright, are you saying you don't want to more-than-snuggle with me? I'm hurt." She throws a hand over her heart in shock.

He has the water running, the sink already beginning to fill with bubbles as he turns back to her and says, "I always want to more-than-snuggle with you, Dani Powell. Always." It's meant to be lighthearted but there's an honesty weighing it down that takes Dani by surprise.

They stare at each other for a minute before Malcolm smiles bashfully and turns back to the sink, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows before plunging his hands in the soapy water to scrub their dishes.

Dani stares at his back for a few seconds before turning to the task at hand, quickly getting the leftovers in the fridge before grabbing a towel and moving beside Bright to start drying and putting away the dishes. They work in companionable silence, letting the jazz standards floating from his record player fill up the space between them.

It's not long before the kitchen is clean, though maybe not to Luisa's exacting standards, and Dani turns to Malcolm, slipping her hands into his as she interlaces their fingers, tugging him closer. She brushes her lips lightly over his and whispers "I love you."

He pulls back and turns his profiler's gaze on her. She's not sure what exactly he's looking for but she'd long ago come to terms with his intensity and just waits it out. She watches as he chews on his lip for a minute before he drops her hands and turns away, abruptly leaving the kitchen.

"Bright? What–" her eyebrows are practically in her hair, completely surprised by his sudden departure, but he's back in the kitchen before she can even finish the sentence.

He slides right back into his previously abandoned spot and runs his fingers down her forearms to her hands, wrapping his hands around her fingers and bringing their joined hands up between their chests.

"This isn't what I'd planned," he says, big blue eyes looking at her earnestly.

"Planned for what, exactly?" she asks, still a little confused as to what is going on.

He takes a deep breath, his chest puffing up before the words come spilling out. "I meant what I said. I always want to more-than-snuggle with you. I want everything with you, Dani. I want all of the quiet nights in and long walks by the river and your absurd quest to try every food truck in the city for lunch."

Her breath catches in her chest as she clues in to what he's saying. What he's about to say.

"I never thought I'd be able to have a normal life, never thought I was capable of being husband or father material, but you make me want that. For the first time in my life, I feel like I can have those things, and it's all because of you, Dani. You mean everything to me and I don't want to waste anymore time away from you."

He drops a light kiss to the back of one of her hands before he releases them both and sinks down to one knee, pulling a small box from his pants pocket.

"Oh my God," Dani breathes out, hands coming up to her mouth as Malcolm opens the box and tilts it up to her. It's stunning and extravagant and exactly the style of ring she dreamed about when she was a little girl imagining her wedding to Prince Charming.

"I had a plan," he shrugs shyly. "There was going to be an elaborate dinner out and string quartet and all of your favourite desserts. But I don't want to wait for the quarantine to be over to ask. So. Dani Powell. There is nothing in this world that I want more than to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you. Will you marry me?"

She takes a shuddering breath in as she lowers her left hand to Bright, letting him slip the perfectly sized ring on her finger. "Yes. Oh my God. Yes!" she cries.

He starts to stand, but she's faster and drops down to her knees and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him into the tightest hug he's ever known. He wraps his arms around her back so he can hold her just as tight, burying his face in her neck to breathe in her scent. When they finally pull back they have tears in their eyes and the most blinding smiles on their faces.

She lifts her hands to his cheeks, lightly cupping his face between her hands as she brings their lips together over and over, small kisses in between smiles and laughs and the happiest of tears.

Two days stuck inside the apartment, together, suddenly seems like it might just be all they could ask for.


End file.
